Bravest
by Triscribe
Summary: Sendak's back. Sort of.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Allura had warned them that this planet's inhabitants had a rather gruesome habit when it came to death, especially those of enemies or people in debt. How it worked, Pidge didn't particularly want to know, but they used a ritual that would turn lifeless corpses into zombies beholden to those who'd reanimated them. There was a whole range of classifications for how long different zombies were allowed to be active before their masters had to let them return to death, as well as an entire section of their legal system dedicated to handling cases of zombie misuse.

It was not one of Pidge's favorite planets.

And by the end of their day there, she could easily claim it was one of Shiro's _least_ favorites.

Why?

Because, apparently, when the bodies of aliens crashed onto their planet and expired, it was within the rights of any scavenger to reanimate that corpse with no legal ramifications. Which was how they came to encounter Sendak again.

What was left of him, anyway.

Crashing onto a desert waste within the remains of his cryo pod had not done the Galra's looks any favors, as his remaining arm was more than a little shredded, while there were a couple holes in his torso that went all the way through. The native who'd reanimated him was the very same one Pidge and Shiro were bartering with to get some cloth for making new clothes, since everyone aboard the Castle was ready for a change of outfit that wasn't of Altean design. Understanding that the pair of paladins wanted a variety of colors, the alien yelled for someone called 'Onesie' to bring out another crate of samples. Pidge yelped and Shiro stiffened when the rather gruesome looking Sendak emerged from the back room of the shop, crate in hand.

Shiro's next response was to yell and attack.

In all honesty, Pidge couldn't blame him.

The merchant, however, _could_.

Not just for attacking his zombie, but also for subsequently knocking a Sendak-sized hole in the wall of his shop.

Outside, quite a few people stopped in shock to see Shiro pummeling the zombie, though others screamed and ran. That was what caused Pidge to snap out of her stupor and charge after the black paladin.

"Shiro! Stop!" She yelled, grabbing at her leader's right arm. "He's a zombie, a dead mindless zombie! He can't hurt you anymore!" Unfortunately, Shiro seemed to be caught in a flashback, as his hand lit up with purple energy in preparation for the next blow. Pidge, holding on, screamed as she got burned through the material of her gloves.

 _That_ got Shiro's attention, jerking him back to the present. "Pidge-?!" The green paladin staggered back a step, gasping sharply at the pain in her hands. "Oh no, Pidge, I-"

"What you think you are doing!" The merchant bellowed, waddling right up to Shiro and flapping his six arms about. "You think you intimidate me into giving you better deal?!"

"No, that's not-"

"He was our enemy!" Pidge shouted at the alien, getting his attention and determined to keep it. "Your minion was our enemy, one who hurt us badly. My friend thought he would hurt us again."

"He cannot hurt again, he dead!"

"It was an automatic response!"

"Hhn! You must pay for damages now, to store _and_ to minion! Or I press legal charges! Onesie, come!" Sendak's body shifted to an upright position and shuffled off after the irate merchant, back towards the cloth store. Shiro, meanwhile, stared at his injured teammate. Before he could make up his mind over whether to thank or berate her, a low, thrumming siren approached, heralding the arrival of the town's police force...


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Wait, please, my friend is hurt-" The cell door was slammed shut before Shiro could finish, and he sighed as the guard walked away.

"Thanks for trying." Pidge mumbled, dropping onto the metal cot with both arms tucked against her chest. "Kinda not surprised they don't have medical treatment for off-world prisoners, though."

"Was worth a shot," Shiro replied as he sat beside her. "Now come on, let me see your hands."

Reluctantly, Pidge held them out, cringing as she did so. Shiro bit back a hiss at seeing the damage his arm had caused. Both the younger paladin's gloves had been melted away, the first couple layers of skin on her palms and fingers burned through as well.

"Well, the good news is that I think these are only first degree," he murmured, allowing Pidge to tuck her arms in again. "Bad news is, I don't have anything to treat them with right now, and I know you've got to be in some pretty serious."

"'S not that bad."

"Liar."

The girl glared up at him through her bangs, and Shiro couldn't help but chuckle a little bit at the belligerent expression.

"Well, regardless of how much they hurt, thank you for putting on a brave face, Katie." She huffed, but didn't respond otherwise. As the two of them waited longer and longer in their cell, Pidge eventually started to tip over, until her head was resting against Shiro's arm. He took that as a signal to go ahead and rearrange their positions a bit, turning to sit sideways on the cot with Pidge in his lap and leaning fully against his chest.

That was how Allura found them when she arrived a couple hours later, quietly fuming. The Altean immediately launched into a furious tirade over Shiro's unnecessary and dangerous attack, and how they were all in trouble because he'd clearly misinterpreted something, and the leader of the paladins of Voltron ought to be better behaved than this-

"Allura. That merchant's minion was Sendak."

Pidge's quiet words immediately caused the princess to deflate, her mouth opening in an _oh_ of understanding.

"Well. That's- that's much more understandable. I apologize for fussing at you so, Shiro."

"It's alright, I deserved to be fussed at." The man sighed. "So, just how much trouble are we in now?"

Allura sighed, slumping slightly where she stood in the middle of the cell. "There are two methods of recompense, which these people are expecting us to choose between. The first would be a simple monetary transaction, but, Altean currency isn't exactly useful after ten thousand years."

"And we don't have much else in the way of valuable trading materials," Shiro said. "What's the second option, then?"

"...For one of you to agree to serving that cloth merchant as a minion for three years after your natural death."

Both humans stared at her in horror. "Okay," Pidge said. "One, _gross._ Two, why do I get the feeling that such a thing means we'd have to still be on this planet at the time of our natural deaths?"

"Because you would. The authorities here would place you in a specialized housing development, where you would live and work until such time as your natural lifespan ended."

"That's not an option, not if we're going to form Voltron and defeat Zarkon." Shiro rubbed at his eyes, thinking furiously.

"...I'll agree to it." He snapped his head down to stare at Pidge.

"Katie, _no-"_

"I said that I'll agree to it, not that I'll go through on that promise." She interrupted. "But you guys had _better_ come bust me out of this 'specialized housing' as quickly as you can, or I swear I'll kick all your butts."

"I can't ask you to-"

"You're not asking! I'm volunteering!"

"What about your hands?"

"They'll be fine for a while longer, you worrywort!"

"What's wrong with Pidge's hands?" Allura cut in.

"They- got burned." Shiro lost some of his ire as the princess stepped closer to inspect the injuries.

"Did the guards do this?" She demanded.

"No. I was holding onto Shiro's hand to keep him from punching Sendak again when it lit up and burned me." Pidge said quietly, not meeting either of their gazes. "They don't hurt all that bad, honest."

"Hmph. I'll speak to the guards here on my way out, make sure they give you something for these. And," Allura sighed. "I'll discuss the terms of the deal as well."


End file.
